Mrs Jo Burtoft

Parent Governor
Term of office 20-06-18 to 19-06-22
Responsibility: Early Years Foundation Stage

My name is Jo Burtoft and I am a primary teacher within Bridge Schools Trust. I have worked in education for 18 years, more recently focusing on The Early Years Foundation Stage. My twin boys started at Darite in 2015 and are thoroughly enjoying their experience of school life. As a governor, I am looking forward to supporting Darite and St Cleer School to maintain their ongoing success and ensuring each child's love of learning is fulfilled.

Mr Geoff Coles

Community Governor
Term of office 18-09-17 to 17-09-21

Commander Geoff Coles Royal Navy, BSc MSc PGA CEng CMarEng. Retired after 35 years in the Navy as an Engineer (Gas Turbine Specialist). Two sons and a daughter-in-law serving in the Armed Forces and five grandchildren in junior schools in England, Scotland and Germany.

Mrs Nickie Doney

Community Governor
Term of office: 14-02-19 to 13-02-23.

Nickie is originally from Plymouth and moved to the Darite area about ten years ago. She is a qualified Children’s Social Worker who works within the family courts and has many years’ experience working within child protection and safeguarding. Nickie has two young daughters, one currently in Year 2 at Darite and the other in nursery. Nickie is pleased to join the governing board and is hoping to make a positive contribution to Darite and St Cleer schools, particularly in terms of assisting with safeguarding across the schools.

Mr Adrian Hines

Chair of Governors; Co-opted Governor

Email: 

Responsibilities: Whistleblowing, Complaints.
Term of office: 05-11-19 to 04-11-23

I was appointed in 2014 as a Parent Governor at Rydon Primary School, a 420-pupil school in Kingsteignton, Devon. I was elected to the role of Chair in 2016. At this time, the school was part of the Templer Academies Schools Trust (TAST), a MAT comprising two secondary and two primary schools. Upon taking on this role, I prioritised establishing clarity regarding roles and responsibilities, and sought to develop improved insight amongst the Governing Board members. During this period, I also served on the TAST Board, and chaired the TAST Audit Committee, before stepping aside to lead the Governing Body through a challenging period of change arising from a merger of trusts to form Education South West (ESW), which now comprises four secondary and six primary schools. I am currently taking a lead in developing local governance across ESW, seeking to improve cooperation between the Local Governing Bodies, and between the Local Governing Bodies and the Trust Board. I have also implemented a Trust-wide Governor training programme, and have designed and delivered “Basics of Governance” training within this programme. In developing governance across the Trust I have been working with a National Leader of Governance, and with the DfE-funded GovernorSpace leadership development programme. I am an Associate Board Member of Devon Association of Governance, and have recently been appointed as the Primary Academies Governor Representative on the Devon Education Forum. Outside of school governance, in my “day job” I have over 15 years of experience in leading teams of scientists and software engineers, and of committee work at local, national and international level. My work roles have also involved a number of interactions with the Education sector. My teams have included qualified trainers who are responsible for development and delivery of training materials for a variety of audiences, and I have visiting positions at the Universities of Exeter and Leeds which both involve interaction with both undergraduate and postgraduate training activities. As a public sector employee, I benefit from my employer offering flexibility to enable me to work around Governor duties.

Mr James Edwards

Community Governor
Term of office: 08-12-16 to 07-12-20.

My name is Jimmy Edwards and I am a secondary school teacher who is Head of Computer Science, ICT and Business Studies. I have worked in education for 10 years and have 2 children who currently attend St Cleer School. I am looking forward to contributing to the current success of St Cleer and Darite in my role as a Governor. I am very passionate about education and how new innovative technologies can help aid in students learning and progression.

Mrs Claire Ivey

Staff Governor
Term of office: 27-07-17 to 26-07-21

I have worked as a TA at St Cleer since 2006 and previously I worked as a TA at Callington Community College for 5 years. St Cleer school is very close to my heart as I have fond memories of when I went to school there in the 1970's. There have also been four generations of my family that have gone to St Cleer school.

Mrs Lauren Johnson

Vice Chair of Governors: Community Governor
Responsibility: Safeguarding Governor.
Term of office: 04-09-16 to 03-09-20

Lauren is originally from Stoke-on-Trent and has served in the Royal Navy as a Logistics Officer since 2001. She moved to the outskirts of St Cleer with her husband, Kevin, in 2006 and their daughter joined the Reception Class at St Cleer School in September 2016. She is delighted to be able to join the governing board because she is passionate about education as getting it right is so important to the individual child and the community at large.

Mrs Louise Marks-Saberton

Community Governor
Term of office: 12-02-19 to 11-02-23

My name is Louise Marks-Saberton. I have two children at Darite who joined in Reception in 2014 and 2017. The school is very dear to my heart having attended myself in the 1980s. I work as a teaching assistant and in my spare time I do a lot of camping and walking with my family.

Mrs Hayley Stacey

Community Governor
Responsibility: Disadvantaged Pupils Champion
Term of office: 09-11-16 to 08-11-20

Hello. My Name is Hayley Stacey and I currently have one child at St Cleer school. I am a self employed animal portrait artist and freelance photographer. My creative side has always complemented my love of animals and the outdoors and after an early career in British Eventing and training competition horses I am currently studying to become a riding coach. As well as my horses I have a passion for running. I run and race with the East Cornwall Harriers and I currently help with the school's cross country running club with my husband. I believe that incorporating sport within education will not just improve a child's physical health but have a positive effect on their learning in all areas.

Mrs Michele Spencer

Staff Governor, Headteacher

I have been a teacher and leader in Education for 17 years and am delighted to be the Headteacher here at St Cleer, in this new and exciting chapter for the school. Originally from the south east coast of Ireland, life in Cornwall feels very natural and almost home-from-home already. A diverse experience gained from being and Acting Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher in London schools along with a passion for the outdoors has led me to Cornwall and to St Cleer. I look forward to building on what works well here as well as building capacity and ensuring children are given every opportunity to reach their potential. 

Dr Mike Thom

Parent Governor (St Cleer)
Term of office 20-10-17 to 19-10-21
Responsibility: Data

I am originally from Australia, but have lived in the UK for many years. I have lived in Cornwall with my family since 2014, and my daughter started reception at St Cleer in 2016. My wife Fliss and I both work in the biological sciences at the University of Plymouth, and share a keen interest in the outdoors and the natural world – one of the many reasons we were keen to move to the south west. I am delighted to have this opportunity to become more involved in the School through my new role as a parent governor.

Mr Tom Whipps

Staff Governor, Headteacher

Tom is originally from Sheffield but trained in Manchester. He taught for several years in larger schools across Oldham and Manchester before moving to Looe Primary. He has now taught in 5 of the 14 schools in the trust and has been head of school at 3 of these.